Archive for the ‘Fijit Sage & Fijit Seraphina Friends’ Category

One of the hottest new products on the market for Christmas 2011 is Mattel’s Fijit Friends interactive dolls. Designed to appeal to girls ages 6 – 12 years old they are flying off the shelves. To help you with your 2011 Christmas shopping we have posted this parent’s review of the FIJIT Friends Dolls.

Parent Review of Fijit Sage & Fijit Seraphina Friends

Over the past few months, my girls have started doing odd chores around the house, something my husband and I started to start teaching them responsibility. With each chore they do, we have been giving them a bit of spare change. We don’t believe in allowance in our household, but we do allow the girls to do some extra work to earn money. As the girls have started helping around the house and earning money, they started keeping track of the money in their piggy banks a bit more as well, especially after they saw the Fijit commercials on television. Seeing that our girls wanted these dolls badly, we told them that they could get them if they paid for half of their Fijit dolls with their own money. My youngest was determined that she wanted the pink Fijit Friends (Seraphinia) and my oldest daughter wanted the yellow Fijit (Sage). Thinking that our girls wouldn’t get the money together in time, we planned on getting the Fijit Friends Sage and Fijit Friends Seraphina. for our daughters for Christmas. Little did we know that the girls would get the money together for these toys, especially with the new price break. Being a mother who keeps her word, we went on Amazon and ordered these two Fijit dolls. While I was uncertain at first how well these dolls would hold up, they have so far been well received by our daughters. Here is what we think so far of Fijit (Sage). and Fijit Friends Seraphina.

Fijit Ease of Use

When my husband first took our Fijit Friend Interactive Toys out of their boxes, I had no clue what to expect. Both Sage and Seraphina looked rather cute, but I was expecting for these two dolls to be a headache. The last time my daughters had interactive dolls, we ended up spending an hour at the computer trying to figure out how to get them to work. To my surprise, the Fijit Friends worked right out of the box. After pushing Fijit Friends Sage’s belly, it was ready to start working. Curious if the doll would really do what was advertised, I got out of my IPad 2 and set it to start playing music. Immediately, both Fijit Friends Sage and Fijit Friends Seraphina started to dance. I had read online that the dolls had some problems hearing music unless it was loud, but we had no problems with this with our dolls. With the TV playing Sponge Bob, the doll still responded to the music, starting to dance to my daughter’s amusement. I can say that the doll’s beat detection system is really amazing. It does perform different little dances with different types of music, which truly amused me.

My daughters also love the cute little songs that come with the Fijit Friend Interactive Toys. Both Fijit Friends Sage and Fijit Friends Seraphina. come with their own original songs. While the girls do have MP3 players, I have heard these songs playing over and over throughout the house. If your daughters are anything like mine, be prepared to hear the Fijit’s song over and over!

Fijit Technology

In many ways, the Fijit Friend interactive toy dolls remind me of the old Furby my younger sister had when we were younger. Like the Furby, the Fijit Friends doll responds to voice commands, having over 100 different build in phrases and jokes that it says. Like most kids dolls, it is common to hear about ten of these phrases more often than most, but this is normal for most interactive dolls for kids. So far, my daughters love playing with Fijit Friends Sage and Fijit Friends Seraphina.

The only drawback to the Fijit Friends that I have seen is that they are very picky on how you have to say keywords and phrases. You have to teach your children to say the phrases exactly to make sure that the doll responds. For example, you can’t tell the Fijit friends to sleep by saying sleep – you have to say Good Night. While this isn’t a big deal, one of my friends got very frustrated with the doll since she didn’t understand that her daughter has to say things exactly. To me, this isn’t a very big deal. I have the quick reference card on my daughter’s dresser in case she ever does get confused. So far, neither of my daughters has needed any help, having already memorized all the phrases for their Fijit Friends. The only drawback I have found with the Fijit Friend interactive toy dolls is that they eat batteries like nothing. We are constantly going through AA batteries. We bought rechargeable AAs for both of the girls, and have a set constantly charging to make sure the girls can play with their favorite dolls. As well, don’t forget to change the batteries when you first open your Fijit friend doll. Our dolls act very stupid when the batteries are close to dying, and since the batteries in the doll are for demo reasons only, it is very likely for you to come up with a doll that has nearly dead batteries.

Kid Friendly Fijit Friends

Since the Fijit Friend interactive toy dolls are designed for girls six to twelve, you can expect these dolls to be very user friendly. My daughters were able to play with both Fijit Friends Sage and Fijit Friends Seraphina right out of the box, exploring the different things these dolls say and watching these cute dolls dance. I am actually surprised how good of a job Mattel did at making an interactive doll that is user friendly while still being technology advanced for kids. While my daughters love to make the Fijit Friend interactive toy dolls dance and talk, they also seem to enjoy touching this doll. The skin of this doll is very soft and rubbery, encouraging the girls to squeeze and poke it. My girls love to cuddle with this toy, something I have to stop since I am worried they are going to hurt themselves or break the doll. Either way, it is cute seeing them playing with this cute doll. My son, who is under a year old, also seems to enjoy touching these dolls and watching them dance.

Included in the Box

Others Opinion of Fijit Friends

In our household, the Fijit Friend interactive toy dolls are an absolute hit. These dolls are currently going everywhere with my daughters and even their friends are asking for these dolls for Christmas. I am glad my girls got their dolls now, since I’m expecting they are going to be hard to find once other parents start their Christmas shopping. With a rating of 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon, this is one of the hottest toys of the season. So far, here is what others parents think of these cute Fijit dolls.

“Sage, the Fijit Friends Adventurous One is hilarious! Even my bird dances and sings to it as do all the members of my family. This toy is perfect to get everyone up and dancing. It is great to use the four songs provided but better when you use your own tunes. She is amazing and I hope Mattel comes out with the iPad app very soon. I also hope they allow some kind of download via the sonic chirps for more phrases. Either way this is a must have and very fun. Also bought the added ears and braclet too. Kinda interesting to mix and match the ear parts and use the original ears to make feet. We love it and hope you all do too! Oh and yes, the only drawback is that the batteries do have to be changed a lot but the cost is worth the excitement of dancing with SAGE! :)” “My 10 year old daughter just got this as a birthday present (non-amazon purchase) and we all love it! Sage can dance to my daughters music, she has cute little jokes and we literally bust up laughing every time we dance with her. Even my husband is entertained! I think it’s a great value for the price. Definitely entertaining for the 3-12 age group! Just don’t have high expectations about the “chatting” option- Sage only says a few phrases. Overall, it is a good buy and I plan on gifting several of these this Christmas!” “I really think this toy is great,my grandchild will love it.I think this item is very durable.I enjoyed this figit” “I bought this for my niece for her birthday a few weeks ago. She loves it!! (I also find it pretty entertaining–shh, don’t tell anyone!) The toy works great–I’m not sure why the other reviewers had issues as this has not been my experience, but you do have to say specific phrases and you have to speak when the belly button light is on. We especially love the “Dance with me!” feature…we have a mini-dance party every time I come over. I also really love the material the doll is made of–jelly, squishy, fun to squeeze. I’m actually going to get the Logan Fijit for my friend’s daughter…her name is also Logan! Love it!” “My niece and nephew can’t stop playing with it. Needed to change the batteries (they come with cheapo batteries) and say the specific phrases on the instructional card (can’t just say “chat” – need to say “chat with me”). Super cute.”

Other Fijit Friends Reviews

With the Fijit Friend interactive toy dolls being one of the hottest toys of the season, everyone has their own opinion about these cute dolls. To read what other real parents and grandparents have to say about these dolls, click here for Fijit Friends reviews.

Where to Buy Fijit Friends Sage & Fijit Friends Seraphina

Unless you want to pay a small fortune for these dolls, I highly recommend buying them on Amazon.com. When my husband and I went to the retail stores, we found that they were still selling these dolls for well over $50. Even though Amazon’s prices do fluctuate, they have these dolls consistently for about $40. As Christmas approaches and the supply becomes short the prices are bound to go up. Since interactive toys do have a habit of sometimes having issues, you will also be able to enjoy Amazon’s great return policy, since they have never given me issues with returning toys for my daughters.